St. Anthony Mann, a Minnesota native, has spent some time traversing various areas of the United States and it shines through with his latest track, “Phantom.” A lush, crisp, and infectious melody comes through the headphones. The acoustic, fingerpicked guitar is mic’d (as opposed to plugged directly in) giving a rural and roots sounding brilliance to the track. By the time the kick drum comes in one can feel the build of the song. All of a sudden, we’re listening to something reminiscent of the likes of Jose Gonzalez or Bon Iver, yet wholly original and symphonic. The build is like a phantom itself as it ebbs and flows with the tide of the track. Throughout the song, Mann sheds light on settings and nature. Lyrics like, “see it now, listening to the highway / all this ripping, all these waves,” provide a purity to the innocence and beauty found in the world if we really look at it. All of it wholly. These observations, and ponderings, are followed by the refrain, “What can you say about them?” Someone “is laughing across the table,” Mann croons and repeats the question. The listener is left to answer this question for themselves. He seemingly answers the question, however, with the line, “I set it down, my darling […] turned around my wandering eye, speak of this unlearning.” It’s as if the narrator, presumably Mann, is setting the question aside. There doesn’t seem to be a correct answer only what one perceives. As long as one can perceive, there is an answer. “What can you say about them?” is repeated at the end giving the lyrics weight and feel. He speaks of a fable in the song. The phantom that we all pursue. Always searching for and never finding.
Written by The Moderner
